I was fortunately able to attend the red carpet Premier of the movie "Unfriend" which was held in Robinsons Galleria Cinema last Monday, February 24. I had a good time watching a world class "Indie" film.It was even exhibited in the Berlin Film Festival in Germany. It gave me some lasting impressions about the movie which I would like to share to you.

You will be seeing scenes like this one from the get go. The movie will give you no clue about the main characters of the story. It will show you right away that the movie will focus around homosexual lovers. From a straight guy's point of view, I found the movie strange at first but as the story went by, I came to appreciate the story more and the lesson that it is trying to impart to its audiences. It is not a knock-off to our reputable gay friends out there, this article is more of like a discussion produced out of my comprehension about the movie. I respect them a lot and I believe that they contribute a lot of good things in our society nowadays.

You will see a number of obscenities on the film and some conservatists might find some of these scenes as immoral. Although the scenes were delivered perfectly and artistically, you can't help but to feel some awkward feelings towards those scenes and you feel that there could be some more tamed and cleaner scenes which can be inserted in place of the obscene parts of the movies that I am pertaining of. The movie is Rated R-18 and R-16 in cinemas which goes to show you how adult-oriented the movie is. I have no problem with the man's "behind" being featured at the early part of the movie. What bothered me was the intercourse which happened at the middle part of the movie where the protagonist had a sexual activity with another man and gave the audience a chance to peak at a certain "Dong" which I feel is inappropriate. Yes it may add up some spice to the movie, but for me, it just doesn't feels right. I am a certified mainstream movie enthusiast so that may be a factor why I am still not used to the bold scenes shown in most indie films.

I also got a little bit confused with the chronology of the story. There's a part where David invited Jonathan to celebrate christmas with him at home together with his grandmother. Then when David went home, they were already preparing for the "Noche Buena", they went to the mass during the Christmas Eve. David escaped from his grandmother and played a shooting game, Special Force to be exact just correct me if I am wrong. He did a research and then purchased something lethal during a meetup with a certain person. Then when he is about to do the classless or violent act, he bid goodbye to his grandmother and even greeted her Merry Christmas. I got confused how all of these events happened in just a couple of hours or days. I guess if the movie is showing a very time-detailed story, then it would be better if they show a digital clock and calendar below the movie frame to give us a clearer understandings about the story.

Also, for those who are very familiar with the LRT settings, you will see some inconsistencies throughout the entire film. For example, I am studying in front of the milk tea shop where David watched a gun tutorial, it is located in the middle part of Metro Manila, he did the study after he purchased that thing from Recto I guess, then he instantly appeared on some sort of a "V-mall" where the heinous act took place. I get easily confused whenever they skip from one scene to another without even giving prior notice or hint.

The movie was probably made after the gay lover shooting incident about three years ago in a certain mall. The movie didn't really re-enact the incident though. It was just trying to show some resemblance and I feel it's sufficient enough to give us a clue that the movie is really about that gruesome incident.

It also showed how the social media can affect a person's mind. Violent first person shooting games, unregulated online ammunition shops, excessive freedom for posting scandalous pictures over the net. All of these probably triggered the criminal mentality of David which is indeed very depressing.

The characters were portrayed well by the actors and actresses. I give more emphasis to Sandino Martin for excecuting his gay role very well. It's hard to act as a teenage gay if you would ask me. Also, I give high praises to Boots Anson Roa for portraying the role of David's grandmother, although a porcelain skinned and the highly sophisticated looks of Boots Anson Roa isn't really suitable to play as a grandmother living beside an LRT railway.

Nonetheless, I would like to take my hats off for Director Jay Altajeros for a job well done! I will be looking forward to see more of your high quality movies in the future.